We should have juries even for strict liability infractions.

A trial by jury is a right. I get mad that infractions don't allow people to get a public defender or a trial by jury.

I'm helping with a case now where a prosecutor reduced the charge from a misdemeanor to an infraction without consent of the defendant, because the defendant was planning on fighting the charge. What this essentially does is deny the defendant due process because as an infraction, he is not allowed the the benefit of a public defender or a trial by jury.

There are constitutional protections and procedures that a misdemeanor provides that an infraction does not. You would want this if you're fighting the charge, especially if youre innocent.

It should not.

The right to trial by jury be should not be limited in certain criminal cases. It is our civil right to get a trial by our peers, and should never be eliminated under and circumstances. This would lead to a lot of wrongly convicted people because of the bias of the judge.

Trial by jury is a constitutional right

If trial by jury is the only fair way to try serious crimes, then it is the only fair way to try any crime. The alternative is to allow a judge who sits behind a bench completely desensitized to sending people to prison to solely make these decisions. Rejecting trial by jury should only be an option for the accused to decide on.

Justice System Barely Fair

I do not believe the right to trial by jury should be limited in certain criminal cases. I believe it is becoming far more difficult to obtain a fair trial within the United States and limiting trial by jury would probably make the possibility even slimmer in the long run.

No, not at all.

The right to trial by jury should be the mandate and always should be the mandate. It's the most humane way to go about a trial, regardless of how heinous the criminal. If we show these sort of ethics in the face of the worst people, it speaks volumes for how moral we are.

Everyone has the right

The right to trial by jury is a right that should not be taken away under any circumstance. There are no criminal cases, not even acts of mass murder or terrorism, that should not be fairly tried in a court of law and decided on by a jury of peers.